Murray/Soares Clinch St. Petersburg Title

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares ended their strong week on Sunday at the St. Petersburg Open by clinching their second tour-level trophy of the season.

The top seeds dropped just one set en route to the title, overcoming Andrey Golubev and Hugo Nys 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match.

With their victory, Murray and Soares have boosted their hopes of qualifying for the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November. They are currently eighth in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings and in the final qualification spot for the season finale.

“The odds of getting to Turin are getting higher every match we win, so that is good,” Murray said. “I think we have an over 500-point lead on the team behind us. But in Paris if you win the tournament it is 1000 points, so while we are in a good position, we still need to go to Paris and have a good week there.”

Murray and Soares broke three times and closed the net effectively against Golubev and Nys to secure their victory after 81 minutes. It was the first meeting between the teams, with Golubev and Nys competing for just the fourth time together this week.

“I think the conditions here suit my return indoors,” Soares said. “The ball is not moving much and I like these conditions and also we have had a good week, so that also helps. I think we are a dangerous combination overall.”

The British-Brazilian pair has now won 12 tour-level titles as a team. Earlier this season, Murray and Soares triumphed at the Great Ocean Road Open in their first tournament together since Roland Garros in 2019.